Jan 28, 2020 – Good to Go

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Hey Gang!

 

I don’t have a ton of deep thoughts this week – but just some key takeaways from a book I just finished: Good to Go by Christie Aschwanden. It’s a scientific take on recovery methods and fads. What I liked is that Christie is an ex-elite endurance athlete who is now in her 40’s and clearly still charges. She’s a runner, cross-country skier and cyclist who loves to push herself hard for the enjoyment of it but still wants to get the best out of herself. Sounds like a lot of people I know 😉

 

Christie looks at the science behind everything from icing, massages, foam rollers, Tom Brady infrared pyjamas (I won’t out who in this group uses those ;)), recovery shakes and supplements, cryo-chambers, saunas, compression boots, drinking beer, float tanks and more. Her biggest takeaway: by FAR the biggest and most useful and scientifically significant method for recovery is sleep. Most of the other methods probably don’t delay recovery (some do though), and if they feel good and provide a comforting ritual for you then continue to do them because the placebo effect can help, but almost everything else is either a fad, lore, marketing, or not scientifically proven.

 

Another big takeaway was how much stress can impede our recovery and even stunt our improvement. We all know the formula that Stress + Rest = Growth. Unfortunately, Stress + more Stress = No Growth or even Breakdown. If the first Stress is training induced and the second Stress in the formula is work or home related, your body doesn’t care about the difference. Christie looked at a study where they gave a group of volunteers a new exercise program and asked them to rate their mental stress. Those who reported low mental stress made significant improvements in aerobic capacity and maximum strength, but those who reported high mental stress showed little to no gains. For the SAME exercise program! This is interesting to me as I had always known there was a group of people who were “low exercise responders” but I didn’t know why. It turns out that these people might just be not recovering and adapting because of compounded stress.

 

So guys, for performance improvements, two of the best things we can do is to sleep enough and manage our stress. Stress is not an objective thing – what’s stressful to one person might not be to someone else. It’s how you perceive and manage it that matters. And luckily, running helps most of us manage it better! Christie also notes that since everyone is unique in how they perceive and manage stress, it is extremely hard to find a scientific solution for recovery. For some people their best recovery method might be to go out for drinks with friends, for others it could be a solo walk in the forest, and for others it could be watching shows with their family. But whatever it is for you, take that shit as seriously as you take your training – that’s my two cents!

 

For tomorrow:

Let’s focus on the process. Your goal for this workout is to do it within your comfort zone – nothing sexy. Don’t worry – there is time for sexy and outside your comfort zone, but the biggest gains are made from boring consistency. So your objective will not be your times, but how relaxed you can get yourself to feel while running fast.

 

The workout:

600 focused on being relaxed/fast; 45 seconds rest; 200 faster w quicker turnover

2 minutes rest (jog to 200m)

Repeat 5-7 times

(I will create a 200m mark from the east side so we can do these both ways)

I’ll be jogging/cheering this one and will try to make sure you’re all looking relaxed and not straining 😉

 

See y’all in the a.m.!

 

Seanna

 

Jan 21, 2020 – Panic

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Hey Everyone!

 

I guess real winter weather was bound to arrive at some point. So bundle up and here we go!

 

What I was thinking about this week: a new take on the mind/body connection. I was doing a tempo workout with some ladiess last weekend. The workout was 30-35 minutes. A few of the ladies are considerably faster than me. However, I held on to them until 32 minutes. Then it was all too intense and I just let go. I had made it into the prescribed window and did not hold on for the last three minutes. One of the lead runners and I were chatting afterwards on our cool down. She is not only faster than me but also much younger, however she is way more experienced with running and racing hard at a high level. She said to me “You just have to convince yourself not to panic. You have to tell yourself you’re fine and just keep going”.  Had I panicked? Is that why I let go?

 

Here’s another interesting fact which I learned from The Passion Paradox. (I’d heard about it before but had forgotten it). We have not one, but two brains: a left brain and a right brain. The left side is rational, analytical and data driven. The right side is creative, emotional and a story teller. These two essentially different parts of ourselves are communicating all the time via the corpus callosum (a thick band of neurons). However, when it is severed, our two brains stop communicating. Researchers have experimented with patients in these circumstances and found remarkable things. If only the left eye (which communicates with the right brain) is shown a card with a command (for example, walk, draw, drink water), the person will do that thing. However, their right brain can’t explain or rationalize, it can only direct actions and create stories. So when asked why they are doing the action written on the card, the patients  come up with a plausible reason. “I need to stretch my legs, I feel like doodling, I’m thirsty”. They are unaware that they are following a command. The same pattern holds when they are shown a traumatic image to their left eye. They suddenly become sad, but make up all kinds of stories as to why they are sad. They do not rationally know that their brain has picked up on the sad image. This is much of what makes us human: our brains are always making up narratives to make sense of our world and our feelings – whether they are “true” or not.

 

So back to me and “panicking” while running hard. Maybe my wise young friend was onto something. Was my brain interpreting my current state like this: “You’re running basically at the brink of your capacity, you’re breathing hard, your muscles are straining, you’re moving fast … you must be in danger!” Was my story telling brain trying to make sense of my situation and giving me a narrative which I then followed? Panic! Pull the chute! Emergency brake! What I needed to do was pull my left brain online to talk down my emotional brain. “You’re fine. You’re running hard but you’re not in danger. Your heart, lungs and muscles are completely fine and it’s good for them to work this hard”.  My two brains are connected and I should be able to get the message of rationality across.

 

So I will work on this. Apparently self-awareness is the first step. First, understand what’s happening, then you can start trying to address it.

 

Let’s try this tomorrow on hills!

Here’s an idea: let’s do the long and short ones, but in a different sequence. So we’ll do as many full hills as we think we can do while leaving some space/energy at the end for some short (half) hills. I won’t tell you how many of each to do – read yourselves. I’m thinking I’ll aim for something like 6 and 4. If you under-shoot your long hills, do more short hills. If you over-spend on the long hills don’t do as many short.

 

Sound good?

 

See you guys in the a.m.!

 

Seanna

Jan 14, 2020 – Passion Paradox

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Hey Guys!

 

Since I promised some thoughts on this platform, I thought I’d share a take-away from a book I just finished: The Passion Paradox by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness. They’re the guys who wrote Peak Performance which I know some in this group have read. This one is about how Passion can be both a blessing and a curse and how we can work towards keeping our passions healthy.

 

What I found interesting was when they were explaining how we evolved as a species to be drawn to the pursuit of goals. Our brains release dopamine when we are working towards a goal. We do not get a great dose of feel good chemicals when we achieve a goal though. Only in the pursuit. We evolved this way because probably those humans whose brains were wired the opposite way sat and were happy with their one achievement for the rest of their lives and then starved to death and never passed on their genes. Only those who were never satisfied and kept pursuing the next thing kept achieving things like getting food, building tools and shelters, etc… Since our brains are wired to release dopamine when we’re pursuing goals, we keep working towards things because it feels good. (An interesting aside: some of us have lower dopamine sensitivity than others – for example, people with ADD or ADHD. These people have to do MORE to get the same feeling of satisfaction. These types of people tend to be the ones who pursue things to extremes. They are just looking for the same good feelings as everyone else, but they need to do MORE to get it. )

 

But whether we pursue things to extremes or not, it’s helpful to know that we are only “programmed” to feel happy while in pursuit. That is not to say we shouldn’t value our goals – obviously all the amazing feats we’ve accomplished as a species are because of this brain setting. And reaching new levels of physical fitness and performance are amazing things! But we need to remember that the goals themselves won’t bring us happiness. This is a hard one to get your head around but it’s true. Lottery winners never become happier. And shaving a few minutes off your PB won’t actually make you a happier person either. (I struggle with fully believing this as well. Surely I’d be happier if I kept getting faster? Apparently not though. Even Olympic gold medalists look around afterwards and say … what’s next? And if they have nothing can easily fall in to purposelessness and depression).

 

So keep this in mind while pursuing your running goals this spring. If you’re not finding any joy or purpose in the pursuit, maybe you need to try a different approach (there are many – ask me!) But the point is, whether you reach your time/place goal or not, the feeling of achievement or disappointment will be fleeting. And whether you make your goal or not, you will likely start your training process all over again within a week or two, and THAT is what will bring you joy. Sorry – it’s just how we’re wired!

 

For tomorrow’s pursuit, back to Lakeshore.

2 x 1 mile w 2 min rest

3 min rest

2 x 800 w 90 sec rest

3 min rest

2 x 400 w 90 sec rest

 

This is a bit longer because it’s cold out so we can’t start out fast. Really ease into those miles – tempo or half marathon pace. Then we’ll work our way down.

 

See ya in the a.m.!

 

Seanna

 

Jan 7, 2020 – Pick from the menu!

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Hey Everyone!

 

Happy New Year! As part of my New Year considerations, I plan to write more. So some of you may become my unwitting readers as you try to get to your workout plan for the next day (sorry!) Here’s what I will do: I will send out a Newsletter format with some personal thoughts/musings or something I’ve found interesting about what I’m reading as it relates to running and life on our email list only. Our Facebook group will just receive the workouts. If you would like off the email list, please let me know! Absolutely no offense will be taken. We can even create a code – you can simply send me an email entitled “Happy New Year Seanna” and I will know that means to take you off the list 😉 If you are only on the Facebook group and would like onto the email list, also please let me know and I will add you.

 

That will start next week. For today, you all get my thoughts in both locations.

 

What I’ve been thinking about recently is two things: 1. How important small (not giant!) consistent efforts are and 2. How important it is to stay engaged and have fun with your training. These two things are very related.

 

When we think about some of the elements which go into making you a faster, stronger, less injury-prone runner, these are things we can include:

  • Easy, enjoyable social miles/recovery runs
  • Easy long runs
  • Harder long runs
  • Short Tempos
  • Long Tempos
  • Drills and short speed on the track
  • Strides as drills or after easy runs
  • Long hills
  • Short hills
  • Fartleks
  • Intervals (long or short)
  • Strength training
  • X-training
  • A mix of any of the above

(Sleeping, eating and not running are also as important if not more than the above list, but to be covered another time)

 

You can look at this list and feel overwhelmed, or you can look at this list and feel a sense of excitement like looking at a menu to choose from. Every single thing on this list will help and there is no way you can do them all in one, two or even three weeks. So my advice, if you’re playing the long game, is choose the ones that bring you the most joy. Today. Something else might bring you more joy another time, but there will be something else to choose from. They ALL help.

 

The awesome thing about our group is that there is usually someone doing something on here. We have swimmers, cyclists and x-country skiiers who hook up. We have drills and speedwork on the track as an option. We have intervals or hills as an option. We have different people training for different things who hook up for tempos and long runs. And my absolute fave: the social recovery runs. Some people are in a “lean in phase” where others are in a “one foot in front of the other” phase. We all experience both at various times, and will continue to go back and forth.

 

So that’s my thought for this New Year: Choose what’s right for you and have fun. Don’t compare yourself to someone else or even to yourself from a different phase. Pick something from the menu and go – it all counts!

 

For tomorrow, let’s do another Fartlek-type run before returning to measured speed/distance. You can get just as much fitness out of these but if this is your first speedwork back from the holidays, it’s a less performance judging way to get into it. Still meeting at Lakeshore/Leslie.

 

Let’s do: 2×5 mins w 1:30 easy (5K pace-ish), 3 mins easy, 6-7x 2 min w 1 min easy (a tad quicker). Lean in or don’t as you see fit. Don’t forget your headlights if you have them!

 

Ooh, almost forgot – Congrats to Cassidy who came 1st Woman overall in the Hair of the Dog 9K in a time of 40:07 and Erin who was 1st Master’s Woman in 41:41!

 

See ya in the am 😊

 

Seanna

March 2, 2021 – Train like a cat

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Hi Everyone!

 

I was about to say I think I can smell Spring, but then it just started snowing with a cold wind blowing in, so I think we’re in for some back and forth for the next little while.

 

Last week was a tough one weather-wise for training for many of us. At least three days were either deep snow, slick, invisible ice, or a combination of both. I think almost everyone changed and adapted their runs and workouts based on what was in front of us.

 

As I opened the door to let my cat out after her breakfast on one of those freezing icy days, she took one look and said “no thanks”, turned around and contentedly curled up on a chair instead.

 

It occurred to me that there is a lot we can learn from cats (full disclosure – I was also inspired after reading a review of Feline Philosophy by John Gray). 

 

Cats are masters of contentedness. They basically exist to please themselves, and they are very good at making the most out of any situation in order to do just that. If it’s cold, wet and windy out, they are just as happy to not go outside, and they feel zero guilt or shame or longing. Then when it’s nice out, they might disappear for a whole day with no excuses. When my cat wants to be patted, she’ll follow us around and makes sure she gets attention. Once she’s had enough, she turns around, throws her bum in our face and walks away. Unlike dogs (and humans), cats don’t have anxiety about what is to come or what other people think. They are completely self-reliant and know they have the ability to make the best of whatever comes their way. Just picture a cat. Whether it is sitting in a sunbeam or prowling in the garden, you can’t picture a cat wishing it were doing something else and not being fully content in whatever it is doing.

 

What can we take from this? For starters, don’t beat yourself up if it’s gross out and you don’t want to go out. Who is your master anyway? If it’s not going to bring you joy, you don’t have to do it. Or at least not for as long as when it’s nice out. It IS inherently less enjoyable when it’s freezing and slippery. There is no shame in admitting that.

 

And on the flip side, when it is nice out, take advantage and enjoy it! (and trust that you will) When we take our cat to the cottage she just goes and goes and goes until she collapses – when we get home she’ll sleep for two days! Similarly, sometimes we’re just gifted a beautiful day, a scenic setting and energy in our legs. On those days, we should go out for as long as we like and enjoy ourselves! Make yourself happy – you can rest up later.

 

Another lesson: don’t let the judgements of others dictate what you do. Our cat will take our love, but she doesn’t beg for it or live for it. You can tell by the state of our couch that she’s not trying to win our approval. This is how we should approach our relationships with our training and race results on social media. Likes and accolades are nice, but we can live without them. It’s our own respect that we need.

 

So try pleasing yourself with your running. Practice being content with whatever training decision you make on any given day, and trust yourself enough to know that you’ll go out and work hard when the time is right. Also, go sit down in the next sunbeam you see and close your eyes for a bit – it feels pretty good.

 

On to workouts for this week:

 

  1. 3-4×1000 with 1:45 rest at 5K pace (if doing these on our path, do them as 800/200 then combinations of 600/400), 4 min rest, 4-5×400 with 1:15 rest at 3K pace (or just a bit faster)
  2. If doing fartlek style: 3-4 x 4 min Hard w 1:45 Easy, 4 min easy, 4-5 x 1:15 Hard, 1:15 Easy
  3. Hills if you missed last week bc of ice and feel like doing them
  4. Tempo: 3 x 15 min w 3 min rec (this is if you’ve been building them and are training for ATB – Option of 3 x 10 mins if you’re not there yet)

 

Have fun and hope to see some of you on the roads at some point!

 

xo

 

Seanna

 

 

Feb 23, 2021 – Dreams

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Hi Everyone!

 

This week I’ve been reflecting on this time of year in general. February usually brings some of the coldest days of the year, and by now the snow and slush and freezing winds might no longer a novel challenge that we might enjoy leaning into a little, but more of a steady chipping away at our good humour.

 

This happens around this time every year. But we know we’re just a few weeks away from that first unseasonably warm day which gets us all out and  … what? That is my problem this year. Sure, I’m looking forward to warmer temps, but I don’t have glorious visions of big goals or fun vacations. I’m not being pulled along through February by dreams and plans. Don’t get me wrong – I enjoy my ‘process’ and I’m generally fine with taking one day at a time, but man … dreams are pretty fun.

 

One of the things that makes humans unique is our ability to project into the future and visualize and plan. (Of course this is a double-edged sword as it also sometimes comes with the side-effect of anxiety and dread.) We are constant story tellers. Our brains tell us a story about what is likely to happen, and then we are stuck with that version of events until reality proves us either right or wrong. As a side note, humans are phenomenally bad at predicting the actual future. So we are constantly living in a made-up world that we assume is going to happen. Very few of us live in the actual present unless you’re very good at mindfulness (a topic for another post!)

 

So back to February. I realize I’ve allowed my projected future reality to go gray. I’m not tethered to a dream. I’ve found myself not really excited about anything right now. But why can’t I make something up? Who cares how realistic these dreams are? It doesn’t matter whether they come true or not. At least my dreams can pull me through February and maybe even March. I think I just have to get a little more creative with my dreams. True, most races are not happening this spring (there are still always virtual options of course but I find those have a bit of a dimmer switch on compared to the real things). And “April Break” will not involve ski slopes or beaches. But I’m sure I can come up with something that makes me happy and excited to look forward to. And maybe it’s not even running related. Maybe it’s a multi-day staged cycling or hiking trip or paddling adventure. Or maybe it’s a long-term dream that I can really get behind – like a 2 year race goal project. Really, it can be anything, but I do believe it should be something.

 

I find when I’m buoyed and excited by one thing, it translates into other areas of my life. And maybe most importantly, a dream necessitates hope. The future you’re living in in your head regains colour and is no longer so gray.

 

So that’s my challenge to myself and all of you too. If you’ve found yourself with the “blahs”, come up with a dream that you can picture, and allow it to pull you along – and I am open to suggestions!!!

On that note, if your dream involves running some fast times this summer or learning to race different distances, the Achilles 5K or 10K could be a good stepping stone!

If you’d like to join us, please let Monica know.

 

Workouts for this week:

  1. Hills! We’re back on this week. Pottery, Balsam or Glen Manor seem to be the hills of choice these days. Any hill, any combo of long/short
  2. Workout/tempo option: (tempo a little shorter this week as many are on a recovery week for ATB unless otherwise prescribed) – 6 min, 4 min, 3 min, 3 min, 4 x 1 min (2 min bw everything except 90 sec between 4 x 1)

 

That is all – have a great one everyone!

 

xo

 

Seanna

 

 

 

Feb 16, 2021 – Pacing

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Hi Gang!

 

What I’ve been thinking about this week is pacing. Just the art of pacing in general. It’s a tough thing to nail. And your best pacing strategy really depends on the length of the thing you’re undertaking. When you don’t know the length, finding the right pace can be very difficult. Here are a few different pacing strategies:

 

Positive Split. This means starting faster than you finish. (some of us also call it the “fly and die”, but I find that a little less positive). Positive splits can actually be the best strategy in some events. In the 800m, most races are won and the world records are held with positive splits. In a shorter-type event like that, it is advantageous to start hard and hold on as long as you can because there is not a lot of room to pick up the pace when you’re running at these effort levels and the price if you get it wrong isn’t too great.

 

Negative Split. This means finishing the second half faster than the first. This pacing strategy is advantageous in longer events. When you are not completely certain of your energy reserves, it is not smart to expend a huge amount at the start because the fallout if you get it wrong is way bigger (witness: the bonk in the marathon). Finishing faster also gives you a psychological boost and knowing the finish line is close allows you to go right to the end of your reserves as you finish – so finishing faster is how most longer races and hard efforts play out.

 

Even Split. This pacing strategy is what many people aim for, but is very hard to achieve – especially if you are aiming for your best effort. It’s easy to nail if you’re going easy, but if you’re really trying your hardest, pacing anything perfectly is almost impossible. It does however tend to lead to the best results in “fabricated or artificial” scenarios. On the track world records are now being broken by athletes using pace light technology. They follow the flashing lights on the track which are set perfectly and evenly to world record pace (world records which were not set using this strategy).

 

Variable Pacing. This pacing strategy is what most people use when trying their hardest and achieving their best results in real life scenarios. In the 5K, most world records are set with the first and last kilometer being the fastest, and the middle three being a little slower. In the marathon or ultra-endurance events, there are dips and surges in pace as athletes settle into a rhythm or feel good and push a bit. It is a pacing strategy that adapts to the environment and competitors around you.

 

I thought this was interesting when looking at how we’ve paced ourselves through this pandemic – now that we’re almost a year in. Some of us started at a furious pace that was hard to maintain – with things like colour coded daily schedules for our kids detailed down to 15 minute increments, or starting running streaks or mileage challenges. This was a good idea when we thought we might be running an 800m race. I think we’ve realized we’re beyond that. But it doesn’t have to be a total “fly and die”. We can vary up the pace as we see fit. This doesn’t mean we’re stopping – we’re still racing – it just means that sometimes we can settle in, catch our breath, find an easier rhythm, and then pick it up again when we’re feeling good. Maybe a day (or a week!) where everyone stays in pajamas and you eat more takeout and watch more Netflix than you’d planned is ok. Are you safe and healthy and doing your part? Yes. Then you’re still running the race. And maybe the next week you’ll nail all your workouts, bake bread and teach Italian to the kids. Good for you – you’re winning! But let’s hope you didn’t start your kick too far out. Rigging in the last 100m is a very painful way to go 😉

 

On that note! Everyone who is interested in doing the Achilles 5K or 10K Challenge – please let Monica know so that she can create teams. Chris, Monica and I have come up with a challenge for this.

 

  1. Estimate your goal finish time.
  2. Make your first kilometer and last kilometer as similar as possible.

 

The winning teams will be comprised of people who have the lowest spread between first and last kilometer within range of their goal time (so you can’t just dog it to make them perfect – thank Chris for that little addition!) – exact algorithm TBD.

 

Register Here: https://achillesstpatricksday5k.ca/  and then let Monica know.

From the website: “Registration fees go toward providing much needed support to athletes with various disabilities so that they have the opportunity to enjoy the physical, psychological, and communal benefits of running. Visit the Achilles web site to learn more about how we support these deserving athletes.”

 

Race day is March 14th – 4 weeks away! (the team challenge is just for us – it’s not an official Achilles thing)

 

Workouts for this week: (and if the footing is bad, just go by effort and/or take a week off and save it for a tempo on the weekend – it won’t kill you!)

 

  1. 7-9 x 600 with 1:30 rest at about 20 sec per K faster than tempo
  2. If doing it fartlek style (or on the bike or other x-training): 7-9 x 2 min Hard, 1:30 Easy
  3. Tempo: 2 x 20 min w 3 min easy (this is getting longer for ATB peeps – temper the pace here – go around 5 sec per km slower than usual – it’s calousing you for being able to focus for that length of time and you’ve been building to it – you can do it!)

 

Have fun all – and pace yourselves accordingly!

 

xo

 

Seanna

Feb 9, 2021 – Your Body

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Hi Everyone! 

 

What I’ve been thinking about this week is about our bodies. And how amazing and incredible they are. I am reading a book called The Body, by Bill Bryson, so yes, this has influenced my thinking. But it is worth pausing to reflect on how amazing and awe inspiring our bodies are in all that they do for us. 

 

I know it’s easy to get disappointed with our bodies when we feel they’re letting us down. They may not run as fast as we’d like, they get fatigued, they break down and get injured, they get sick. This is true. But don’t get down on your body – it is on your side and doing an incredible job and fighting for your well-being every single second.  

 

Millions of years of evolution have led to some of the most complex processes some of which still aren’t fully understood by modern science. Here is an example of a wonderous design that we might take for granted: the circulatory system. Every single second of every single day for your entire life, your heart is hard at work moving blood around to every organ and muscle in your body. It moves over 6,500 litres of blood a day (!) and makes sure that every part of your body gets the required amount – whether you are sitting down or running hard intervals. One of the many things your heart pushes around is red blood cells. These are perfectly evolved cells which work tirelessly in service for you, transporting oxygen from your lungs to your working cells. Science has not been able to make artificial blood because no other system has been found with the precision of a red blood cell to pick up oxygen, and not drop any until it reaches its intended destination. Your red blood cells zoom around your body every second of every day (about 150, 000 round trips, or a life of 4 months) at which point they have served their purpose for you, become too battered to go on, and are scavenged up by other cells.  

 

Another example of your awe inspiring body is your immune system. You come complete with a full army of different types of cells which are ready to jump into action and sacrifice themselves all in the name of keeping pathogens out and you healthy. They are often referred to as security guards and an attack force, and that is in fact how they function when they sense you are being invaded. They are also incredibly smart. This is why vaccines work. They learn from one encounter to the next, and can rally and mount an immediate defense against something they’ve seen before. These little guys are working for you all day and every day. There are thousands of microbes and pathogens constantly trying to attack our bodies.  It is said that the wonder isn’t that we get sick, but that we don’t get sick more often. 

 

This is not even to mention the structure of your body, and how you evolved a skeletal system and muscular system that allows you to do so many things that you take for granted. Every upright footstep is actually a wonder of balance, coordination, free-falling and landing, all formed to help support our brains and occupied hands. Not to mention, even though we don’t generally think of the human species as great athletes compared to other animals, we actually are the best equipped endurance land mammal around with highly perfected systems of movement, cooling and energy delivery.  

 

Just reflect on a few of these amazing things about your body. It is such an ally and is constantly working to help you out. It was designed to keep you alive and it will do everything it can to that end. So if it’s a bit tired or sore or injured, and you start to feel yourself getting down on it, just remember that it is a remarkable intricate system and it’s doing a lot of hard work behind the scenes that you take for granted and should probably thank it for.  

 

On that note, onto workouts for this week! 

 

  1. 2×1600 at 10K pace with 2 rest, 2 x 800 at 5K pace w 1:30 rest, 2 x 400 faster w 1 rest (3 min bw sets) (I warned you this one might resurface) 
  2. Fartlek style: 2 x 6 min w 2 min easy, 2 x 3 min w 1:30 easy, 2 x 1:30  w 1 min easy, 3 min bw sets 
  3. If you did the above last week, Hills for you! 
  4. Tempo 1: (longer option) – 2 x 18 min, 1 x 4 min w 3 min rec 
  5. Tempo 2: (shorter option) – 2 x 10 min, 1 x 5 min w 3 min rec 

 

Have a good one everyone! 

 

xo 

 

Seanna

Feb 2, 2021 – Running Generously

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Hi Everyone!

 

What I’ve been thinking about this week is in finding meaning in our running, and then sharing it and running generously. I was prompted to think of this by Melanie’s video where she shared her involvement with the Achilles Track Club as a running guide. How meaningful and inspiring!

 

We often hear that running is a selfish sport. It can be, but only if you run selfishly. What inspires me about many people in this group is that you do the opposite of that. If a friend or neighbour asks you about running, you slow down to their pace and invite them along. When you see that your kids could use a little boost, you swap your workout for theirs and let them lead and set the pace. When someone in our group needs a little extra encouragement to get out the door, you notice, and don’t leave them behind, but gently encourage them along. You open all the doors and run with generosity.

 

I know that a number of people in this group have found running buddies that work well for easy runs, long runs or workouts. This is because you are sharing your energy with each other generously – not competing. You don’t run with someone because they’re fast enough and will be good for you. You run with someone because you have something to offer them. That is the vibe I sense in this group and I am truly loving it right now. (And sorry to call you out Kerry, but also included in this is Kerry’s completely selfless efforts to make us all stronger and benefit from her energy and knowledge with her monthly challenges and free weekly early morning workouts which she never misses!)

 

We love running for many different reasons. We like setting goals, we like striving, we enjoy the feeling of moving our bodies with effort – especially outside in nature, we like the meditative time, we like zoning out, we like focusing in, we like the chemical rush, we like the calming after-effects, we like being mindful and at one with ourselves, we like being competitive and testing ourselves, we like the rhythm of moving quickly through space under our own power. None of this is revolutionary or saving the world, but we find meaning in it. And if it’s worth doing, it’s worth sharing. This is running with love and generosity. And I love you all for that. Thank-you.

 

“All you have is what you are, and what you give.” – Ursula Le Guin

 

On that note, I would like to follow Chris’ suggestion and set the Achilles 5K/10K as a goal option if you’re interested:

 

https://achillesstpatricksday5k.ca/?fbclid=IwAR06_U0giAErke7IFkfG0_SZnuR9wn3Z9VYDXWRc6nUlFOHgwdfXoWSiXdw

 

I know a number of you are doing virtual Around The Bay. A nice little 5K or 10K a month before could fit quite nicely. No pressure! Please let me know if anyone’s interested and I’m happy to write a lil’ program or fit it in.

 

Workout options for this week:

 

  1. Hills! Back at ‘em. I discovered Balmy Beach Hill last time which I loved for the change. Similar to Pottery in length but different undulations. Mix and match but get them in – builds strength you will be grateful for!
  2. 2×1600 at 10K pace with 2 rest, 2 x 800 at 5K pace w 1:30 rest, 2 x 400 faster w 1 rest (3 min bw sets) – (I like this one, so may repeat next week as an option if doing hills this week)
  3. Fartlek style: 2 x 6 min w 2 min easy, 2 x 3 min w 1:30 easy, 2 x 1:30 w 1 min easy, 3 min bw sets
  4. Tempo: 3 x 12 min w 3 min easy

 

Enjoy!

 

xo

 

Seanna

Jan 26, 2021 – Antifragility

/in /by

Hi Everyone!  

 

I have to say, I am loving passing or bumping into many of you out walking or running when I am out. It’s just so reassuring to have these passing reminders that we really are all doing our things together even though we’re apart. Of course I know you’re all getting out, and I think of you out there, but it’s nice to have it reinforced with a passing smile or quick chat. It’s enough to keep me lacing up and running out the door in the hopes of a random encounter!  

 

What I’ve been thinking of this week is antifragility. This is a term which I believe was invented by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his book Antifragile – which I haven’t read. So what I’m about to tell you is my interpretation and feel free to correct me if you’ve read the book! What I understand is that antifragile is a word that the author made up because there was no current word for the opposite of fragile. Resilient means withstanding pressure. Antifragile means getting stronger with pressure. I like this. We always talk about the importance of resilience. This implies that you have to build yourself up before encountering a stressor. You have to already have resilience in order to thrive and come out unscathed. If your system is antifragile however, it is the actual act of the stress which makes you stronger.  

 

Antifragility in systems is ruined when too much control is imposed. Control can work to manage outcomes, but it does not make a system stronger. Antifragile systems thrive in randomness, volatility and disorder, and actually come out stronger. Examples of this are, evolution, political systems, ideas, technological innovations. Anything that when challenged, becomes stronger. When we impose too much structure, control and rules, we can inadvertently make things more fragile.  

 

I was thinking about this concept as it applies to how many of us have been approaching our running and training and virtual races over this pandemic. In most cases that I’ve seen, when we’ve set out to do a hard effort, we’ve let go of the impulse to control all the variables – even though we’ve had the opportunity. If we set out for a hard effort and it’s -12C, that’s what we do. If there is gale force winds, we accept that randomness. If our path is icy or muddy or lights change and we have to zig and zag, we accept that. We don’t wait for the best possible day and give ourselves a downhill route. We don’t run on the treadmill so we can be sure of controlling every variable. This does not necessarily mean we started out with a ton of resilience, but it DOES mean that we will be less likely to crack the next time we have a hard effort or race and we’re thrown a windstorm or muddy course or tough conditions. We are making ourselves stronger by accepting the randomness and stressors.  

 

So let’s think of this next little chunk of winter/pandemic/isolation time that way. We are not just enduring and being resilient and holding strong. We are growing and thriving and building ourselves stronger because we are antifragile. And next time there’s a downhill race on a warm day with no wind and a crowd to run with and lots of spectators to cheer us on, I guarantee you we will absolutely crush that shit!  

 

On that note, please see below for a note from Monica (and big Thank-You to Monica for organizing!)  

 

Congrats to everyone who participated in the LES Power Hour! Lots of quick paces out there, especially with the cold temps and strong winds over the past week. See below for top three Teams and top 3 male and female competitors.  

   

Seems like everyone enjoyed the friendly competition so we’ll look to do another LES challenge/race in a couple months’ time, stay tuned.       

   

Top 3 Teams:  

  1. Team #7 – 15.25km (Amy, Kerry, Cullen, Xavier)  
  2. Team #3 – 15.10km (Miguel Eleanor, Carolyn, Sam R)  
  3. Team #5 – 14.86km (Seanna, Chris, Lara, Kevin)  

   

Top 3 Men (KMs)  

  1. Cullen (4.17)  
  2. Dave K (4.07)  
  3. Xavier (4.02)  

   

Top 3 Women (KMs)  

  1. Seanna (4.09)  
  2. Brianna (4.06)  
  3. Roz (3.93)  

 

Onto workouts for this week:  

 

  1. 5-7 x 1K w 1:45 rest (most ppl should not do 7 but aim for 5 – especially if this is a recovery week) – pace ~ 15-20 secs faster than tempo (these can be done on our path as 600/400 loops or on any route by km’s on your watch)  
  2. 3 x 1K w 1:45 (as above); 4 min rest, 4 x 400 m a bit faster w 1 min rest  
  3. Tempo: 2 x 10 min w 3 min easy, 1 x 5 min  
  4. If your body is sore and you need a recovery week, do an easy jog, mobility and strides, and more easy jogging. This helps a lot more than it feels like it is.  

 

Have fun everyone!  

 

xo  

 

Seanna